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1 A TREATISE 

ON 

<x| SWINE* 



i i 




*CRRE HND MANAGEMENT, 

DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



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-A. TREATISE 



ON 



SWINE; 

THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT, 
DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



Compiled from the best sources. 



BY 
/ 

A. W. VANIMAN. 



ILLUSTRATED 



COMMERCIAL PUBLISHING' CO 
ST. LOUIS, MO. 







S F3^ 

INDEX. 



Apoplexy ......... 23 

Berkshire Sow (illustrated) 28 

Black Teeth 22 

Bleeding . 22 

Blind Staggers 31 

Breeds and Breeding 5 

Care and Management • 3 

Catarrh 31 

Chester Whites (ill us.) 7 

Choking • 20 

Cholera 19 

Colic • • • 18 

Costiveness 30 

Dropsy • • • • > 30 

Epilepsy 16 

Farrowing 32 

Tits • -: 17 

Frenzy 31 

General Debility - • 16 

Inflammation of "the Lungs 27 

Itch 31 

Jaundice 32 

Kidney Worms 31 

Mange 24 

Measles 24 

Neapolitan and Essex Cross (illus.) 21 

Ophthalmia 17 

Piggery (illus.) 13 

Pigging 26 

Poland China (illus.) • • 21 

Preventives • 31 

Quinsy ■ ^ 

Red Eruption 30 

Kheumatism ■ • - ■ - 17 

Rot Tails of Young Pigs 22 

Sore Ears 30 

Sore Feet • ■ 25 

Suffolk (illus.) 21 

Trichinae — 18 

Vermin 17 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, by 

A. W. VANIMAN, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



TREATISE ON SWINE 



CAEE AND MANAGEMENT. 

Pigs should always have access to fresh water. No 
matter how sloppy the food is, or how much dish-water is 
furnished, they should always be supplied with pure water. 
We are satisfied that pigs often suffer for want of it. 

Salt, sulphur, charcoal, ashes, bone-dust, or superphos- 
phate, should occasionally be placed where the pigs can eat 
what they wish of them. 

Pigs will eat beans, if thoroughly boiled, though they 
are not fond of them. Peas they eat with avidity, and 
when as cheap as corn, should be fed in preference, as they 
afford much the richer manure. Half peas and half corn 
are probably better than either alone. Peas make very firm 
pork. 

Oil-cake, when fed in large quantities, injures the flavor 
and quality of the pork, but we have fed small quantities 
of it with decided advantage to the health and rapid growth 
of the pigs, without any apparent injury to the lard or 
pork. It is quite useful for breeding sows. It keeps the 
bowels loose, and increases the quantity and quality of the 
milk. 

Bran, except in small quantities, is not a valuable food 
for fattening pigs. It is too bulky. But when the rich, 
concentrated food is given, such as corn, barley, peas or oil- 
cake, pigs should be allowed all the bran they can eat. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 



placed in a separate trough. In this way it becomes a very 
useful and almost indispensable article to the pig feeder. 
It is also very useful for breeding sows. The best roots to 
raise for pigs are parsnips and mangel-wurzel. 

The period of gestation in a sow is almost invariably 
sixteen weeks. In three or four days after pigging, a sow 
in good condition will generally take the boar. But, as a 
rule, it is not well to allow it. If she passes this period 
she will not take the boar until the pigs are weaned. If 
she fails the first time, she will " come round again " in 
from two to three weeks. 

In mild cases of diarrhoea, nothing is better than fresh 
skimmed milk, thickened with wheat flour. 

Pigs should be castrated a week or two before they are 
weaned. 

Nothing in the management of pigs is more important 
than to provide a trough for the sucking pigs separate from 
the sow, and to commence feeding them when two or three 
weeks old. 

Many of the diseases of pigs are contagious, and the 
instant a pig is observed to be sick it should be removed to 
a separate pen ; and it would be well to regard this single 
case of sickness as an indication that something is wrong 
in the general management of the pigs. Clean out the 
pens, scald the troughs, scrape out all decaying matter 
from under and around them, sprinkle chloride of lime 
about the pen, or, what is probably better, carbolic acid. 
Dry earth is a cheap and excellent disinfectant. On out- 
side wood-work, troughs, plank floors, etc., use crude petro- 
leum. It is the cheapest and best antiseptic yet discovered. 

To destroy lice, wash the pig all over with crude petro- 
leum/ and the next day give him a thorough washing with 
warm water and soap, with the free use of the scrubbing- 
brush. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 5 

Pigs should be provided with scratching posts, having 
auger holes bored for pegs at different heights, to accom- 
modate pigs of different sizes. 

The following description may be considered the per- 
fection of form in a fat pig : The back should be nearly 
straight, though being arched a little from head to tail is 
no objection ; the back uniformly broad and rounded across 
along the whole body ; the touch along the back should be 
firm, but springy, the thinnest skin springing most ; the 
shoulders, sides and hams should be deep perpendicularly, 
and in a straight line from shoulder to ham ; the closing 
behind filled up ; the legs short and bones small ; the neck 
short, thick and deep ; the cheeks round and filled out; 
the face straight, nose fine, eyes bright, ears pricked, and 
the head small in proportion to the body; a curled tail is 
indicative of a strong back. 

BREEDS AND BREEDING. 

As is generally known, there are several good breeds 
which lay claim to public favor, none of which are free 
from defects, or which embody all the points of a good 
hog; the Berkshire has retained the good opinion of the 
public longer than any other breed, and the improved Berk- 
shire is probably our best breed. The Berkshire was first 
obtained by crossing the Neapolitan with one of the large 
English breeds. The Neapolitan is a descendant of the 
improved Roman hog, probably from their best, a proof of 
the skill of that ancient people in that direction. 

Most of the improved English breeds were obtained by a 
cross of the large and rather coarse English hog with the 
fine and delicate Chinese. The Suffolk is the result of one 
of those crosses, and is esteemed the best breed in England. 
It is of fair size, and retains in a remarkable degree the 
fine fattening qualities of its China parent. 



6 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

The pure Suffolk is almost destitute of hair, a very serious 
defect under our scorching sun and dry and hot climate ; it 
is rather tender for our Western treatment, but in fattening 
gives a good return for all the food consumed. 

There are several American breeds that have attracted 
attention, as the Magee hog in Ohio and the Chester "White 
from Pennsylvania, both good hogs, but as yet hardly en- 
titled to be called distinct breeds. It requires a long con- 
tinued breeding in one direction, with careful and judicious 
selection, to form a distinct breed, so that all the pigs will 
be of uniform character, size and form ; till fully established, 
there is a tendency to breed back generally to the most 
defective progenitor, and till that tendency is overcome, 
the certainty of reproduction in its perfection cannot be 
relied on. 

The Chester White, when distinctly established, will be 
as most of the breeds are now, valuable hogs; the square 
and deep form, stout and erect legs, broad and short head, 
quiet disposition, good fattening qualities, and heavy 
weight, form a combination of good qualities that can 
hardly be surpassed. 

Although our best breeds of hogs were obtained by judi- 
cious crossing, and our future successful efforts will be 
perfected in the same way, yet the indiscriminate crossing 
practiced by our farmers cannot be too strongly condemned. 
There seems to be a mania for mixing all breeds, while the 
aim should be to preserve each breed distinct and pure. 
We often see litters of pigs with no two alike, but each is a 
representation of some one of the eight or ten breeds whose 
blood is mingled in the genealogical compound. We once 
made a cross of the Irish Grazier, a large, slow maturing 
hog, with the Berkshire, and then crossed that sow with the 
Suffolk, and the product were three distinct breeds from 
the same litter — first, a fine, delicate pig that would fatten 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 




8 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

at any age; second, a medium-sized hog, that would fatten 
at twelve to eighteen months ; and third, a Grazier hog, 
that would weigh from five to seven hundred, but must be 
two or two and a half years old before they would lay on 
fat. Preserve the breed pure and distinct, should be the 
rule. 

Both parents should be at least one year old before being 
allowed to breed, and if the female should be kept till five 
or six years for that purpose it would materially improve 
the size and vigor of the pigs ; while breeding from young 
sows deteriorates both size and vigor. During the period 
of gestation the sow should never be closely confined, but 
should have ample room for exercise, with free access to 
water; the food should be generous, but not too heavy and 
heating — such as will insure the most perfect health. 

The best season for sows to farrow is April, or early in 
May; an April pig is worth one-third more than a July 
pig, and more than double a September pig. Some of the 
breeds can be fattened at any age, but none will fatten as 
well at one year or as much as at 15 to 18 months; any hog 
must arrive fully at maturity before it can be easily fattened. 
And an April pig can be kept till a year from the following 
January at less expense and trouble than a September pig. 
While suckling, the sow should have free access to grass, 
and should have a generous supply of tolerably rich slop, 
and if fed in a trough easy of access the young porkers 
will soon learn to feed with her, with decided benefit to 
themselves and the mother. At eight weeks old they should 
be weaned — and if they have learned to eat with the mother 
and are fed milk or dairy slop, with a generous supply of 
fine bran or coarse meal, they will not fall off, but will con- 
tinue growing without interruption. 

A growing pig should never be fed corn to any amount, 
it contains too much oil and does not contain elements of 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 9 

growth; light grain, bran and shorts, with a good supply of 
grass and succulent vegetables, should constitute their food. 
After weaning, a pig should never be made extremely fat, 
it checks the growth and injures their thrift afterwards; 
nor should they be permitted to become poor — a poor pig 
can never be made to attain the size or form it would have 
done had it never been stopped in its growth — like a hill 
of corn, if it once becomes feeble and sickly, no after cul- 
ture can atone for the injury done. A mangy pig is worth- 
less, and should be consigned to the golgotha where the 
dead animals of the farm are deposited. 

Neat, cleanly and well sheltered accommodation should be 
provided for swine, especially during the season of growth. 
The hog has been much slandered in relation to his un- 
cleanly habits — in some respects the hog is more cleanly 
than the cow or the horse, or most domestic animals. It is 
true, like the elephant and other pachyderms, he is fond of 
bathing, a cleanly habit, and it is more the fault of his 
keeper than his own that he wallows in mud when better 
accommodations are not accessible. But if young pigs 
have to lie in a damp and dirty bed, their skin soon be- 
comes encrusted with scurf, the ears and tail frequently drop 
off, and the growth is at once arrested. During the entire 
rearing to the term of fattening, the animal should be kept 
in a sleek, healthy and growing condition. 

The natural instincts of every animal must be consulted 
and followed, to produce the best results when domesticated. 
The hog is impatient of both heat and cold; any unusual 
exertion during the heat of summer, especially if in full 
flesh, will frequently cost him his life; comfortable shade 
should always be provided, convenient of access, such as 
will protect them from the noonday heats of the summer 
sun; neglect of this is inexcusable cruelty, and will be a 
serious drawback from the credit side of the pork account. 



10 TKEATISE ON SWINE. 

Equally important is ample protection from the opposite 
extreme of the winter cold. Pigs dropped in the fall are 
unfit, with all the care that can or will be given by our 
common farm accommodations, to pass uninjured the 
severity of the winter season. Early spring pigs will do 
much better, but a well covered, well protected and well 
littered sty, where the pigs will not lie more than one deep, 
and when the owner will not have the nightmare from 
listening to their unearthly screams from suffering from 
the biting cold, is essential to successful pork raising. And 
we do not believe that any good Christian can say his 
prayers and sleep easily and quietly while the whole neigh- 
borhood is made vocal by the cries of his freezing pigs. 

During the cold season, a proportion of corn as food is 
not objectionable. It is well calculated to keep up the 
animal heat, and from the care and convenience of feeding 
it is now, and doubtless will continue to be, the principal 
food at that season. Yet the best results will follow 
when most of the coarser grains, with bran made into slop, 
and refuse apples, potatoes, or other roots or green food, 
constitute the diet. 

Dry grain of any kind is not the best feed, and for this 
reason the hogs that follow beef cattle highly fed with corn 
do better than when they receive the corn directly from the 
crib. 

During the summer, before fattening, a clover or timothy 
pasture is indispensable to successful fattening, and to 
economical production of pork — and the next best course 
is soiling with clover, timothy, or other succulent grasses 
or vegetables. Confinement in small pens, and heavy 
feeding with corn, is the most expensive as well as the 
least successful preparation for fattening in the fall that 
can well be adopted. If fed through the hot weather ex- 
clusivelv on corn, the teeth become sore, and the animal is 



TREATISE ON SWINE. H 

generally diseased. At killing time the livers will gener- 
ally be found diseased, and it will be found impracticable 
to make tliem put on fat. 

One autumn, when corn was worth twenty cents, a neigh- 
bor inquired of us if we could tell why his hogs would not 
fatten, and also saying that most of his neighbors made the 
like complaint. We replied that the reason was obvious- 
cheap corn was the trouble; not that ten cent corn is less 
nutritious than when the price is one dollar, but it is fed 
too liberally, and neither a hog nor any other animal can 
stand full feeding with corn alone but a few months and 
continue in health. The proper course is to so feed during 
the summer as to preserve the animals in the most perfect 
health, keep them thriftly growing and slightly gaining in 
flesh, so as to prepare them best for the fattening process, 
which is always more or less a health-destroying process. 
With good clover or timothy pasture, a little corn or other 
grain is not objectionable, but they will do well on the 
pasture alone— they will grow but not fatten — and if kept 
through the summer on grass alone, will be in admirable 
condition to take on flesh; they will account promptly for 
every kernel of corn judiciously given them. 

Their teeth and digestive organs are all fresh and in good 
condition, and with strong appetites and vigorous health 
their advance to the condition of respectable porkers is 
easy and rapid. Sudden changes from solid to succulent 
food should be carefully avoided, and, vice versa, the change 
from grass to heavy feeding with corn should be very 
gradual, especially as the fattening season commences. 

There is one primary rule in fattening that should never 
be violated — the change of feed should always be from 
lighter to heavier, and never from heavier to lighter. Con- 
sequently, when taken from grass and vegetables, a little 
soft corn or meal should be gradually introduced. Corn 



12 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

cut while the kernel is in the milk is good food to follow 
the grass. The gradual hardening of the grain will be a 
proper increase of the nutrient quality of the food. When 
fairly established on a diet of sound corn, it should be fed 
on a clean floor, and in amount about what will be eaten, 
but not so as to have a kernel left. The practice of leaving 
a quantity of corn more than will be eaten on the feeding 
floor is a very wasteful and bad practice. The nice point 
to ascertain is to find, by measurement, the amount that 
will be consumed without any waste, and then to always 
measure the feed by that standard, varying the amount as 
their appetites require. There are no animals that will 
retain their appetite and thrive as well when fed to a sur- 
feit, with the unused food blown and dirty constantly before 
them, as they will with just enough to give healthy and 
full action to the digestive organs, and to preserve the 
appetite unimpaired. To effect this, the last of each feed 
should be consumed with avidity. Thus the old adage, 
that the lazy farmer who leaned upon the fence while his 
hogs finished their meal always had the leanest pork, has 
much significance. 

Plenty of water, with occasionally a little salt, coal and 
ashes to correct the acidity of the stomach of the gourmand 
porkers, completes the required dietary. This system of 
feeding is adapted to corn fattening as practiced at the 
West. 

Our Eastern friends have a somewhat different system. 
First, having secured the necessary buildings, kettles, 
troughs, etc., they commence the fattening process by 
boiling vegetables, such as apples, potatoes, pumpkins, or 
any other that hogs will eat, and when thoroughly cooked, 
these constitute the food for the first few days ; they then 
commence adding a very little meal, mixing it with the . 
hot boiled or steamed vegetables, so as to cook it thoroughly. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 13 

When the mess has undergone a slight fermentation it is 
ready for nse. The amount of meal is very gradually in- 
creased, till toward the close of the fattening season, when 
meal alone is given; the meal is of corn, oats, buckwheat 
and barley, ground, either mixed or separately. 

Hogs kept in a close pen and fed corn through the whole 
period of their existence will figure up the profits on the 
wrong side of the balance sheet; and much depends on the 
breed — there will be a wide difference between results 
from a good and inferior breed with the same keeping. 
There is much point in the reply of the man when his 
neighbor wanted to get some of his breed of hogs, that he 
would want his swill tub too. Yet both a good breed and 
a well filled trough are essential to successful pork raising. 

Keep your eye on the market, and get all the information 
you can concerning the supply of hogs and pork. Take 
advantage of a rise and sell. Fine, smooth, even lots of 
hogs are always in demand, and are certain to bring the 
top price. Farmers living over a mile from market will 
find it much the best plan to erect a chute, loading their 
hogs into wagons and hauling them. In case they are 
driven, some of their bedding should be taken along in a 
wagon for use on bridges. # Hogs will readily walk over a 
bridge on their old bedding. After passing over one 
bridge the bedding can be raked up, loaded into the wagon, 
and used on the next, and so on. 

A "Well-arranged Piggery. — Paschal Morris, of Phila- 
delphia, an extensive breeder of Chester Whites, describes 
his plan of a piggery as follows : 

" The plan of the piggery delineated in the accompanying 
engraving is susceptible of reduction or extension, for a 
larger or smaller number of pigs, and is intended to super- 
sede the not only useless, but objectionable, as well as ex- 
pensive, mode of constructing large buildings under one 



14 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 




ELEVATION OF PASCHAL MORRIS' PIGGERY. 




J£—L 



-Hh- 



in- \ 



PASSAGE WAY 

T°- — i nn H* 1 



TH=r 



GROUND PLAN. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 15 

roof, where confined and impure air, as well as the difficulty 
of keeping clean, interfere greatly with both health and 
thrift. Twenty-five or thirty breeding sows, farrowing at 
different periods of the year, can be accommodated under 
this system of separate pens, by bringing them successively 
within the enclosure, or an equal number of hogs can be 
fattened, without crowding or interference with each other. 

" The entrance, as seen in the engraving, is on the north 
side of the building, which fronts the south, as does also 
each separate pen. The main building is 32 feet long, by 
12 feet wide,- with an entrance gate at each lower corner to 
the yard of the two first divisions. The entry, or room in 
the center, is 8 feet wide, allowing space for slop barrel, 
feed chest, charcoal barrel (almost as indispensable as feed 
chest), hatchway for access to root cellar underneath the 
whole building, and also passage-way to second story. This 
latter is used for storing corn in winter, and curing some 
varieties of seeds in summer. A wooden spout with sliding 
valve conveys feed to the chest below. The grain is hoisted 
to the second floor by a pulley and tackle on the outside, as 
observed in engraving. 

" The perspective of main building allows a partial view 
of platforms, surmounted by a board roof, and divisions in 
the rear. The ground plan allows six of these on either 
side of the passage-way. The first two pens, to the right 
and left of the door, are 12X12 feet each, and attached to 
them are 25 feet in length of yard, by 15 feet wide. 

" All the yards are extended 3 feet wider than the build- 
ing, which admits of the two entrance gates at the corners. 

" Another division then commences, consisting of a raised 
platform, 6 to 8 feet wide, and extending the same width as 
the first pen, with a board roof over it, and also boarded up 
on the back, which answers the purpose of a division fence, 
to separate from the pen behind. Twenty -five feet of yard 



16 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

are also attached to this, and the same arrangement is con- 
tinued to all the six divisions. 

" Each yard is used for the deposit of refuse vegetables 
and weeds, litter, etc., thrown in from time to time, to be 
consumed or converted into manure. This is conveniently 
loaded into a cart, passing along on the outside of each 
range of pens." 

DISEASES AND KEMEDIES. 

Debility, General, or Emaciation. — The falling off in 
flesh or wasting away, of swine, is in most cases owing to 
derangement in the digestive organs. The cure consists in 
restoring the tone of these organs. We commence the 
treatment by putting the animal on a boiled diet, consisting 
of bran, meal, or any wholesome vegetable production. The 
following tonic and diffusible stimulant will complete the 
cure: Powdered golden seal, powdered ginger, equal parts. 
Dose, a teaspoonful, repeated night and morning. . 

When loss in condition is accompanied with cough and 
difficulty of breathing, mix, in addition to the above, a few 
kernels of garlic with the food. The drink should consist 
of pure water. Should the cough prove troublesome, take 
a teaspoonful of fir balsam, and the same quantity of honey ; 
to be given night and morning, either in the usual manner, 
or it may be stirred into the food while hot. 

Epilepsy. — The symptoms are too well known to need 
any description. It is generally caused by plethora, yet it 
may exist in an hereditary form. 

Feed with due care, and put the animal in a well- venti- 
lated and clean situation ; give a bountiful supply of valerian 
tea, and sprinkle a small quantity of scraped horse radish 
in the food; or give powdered assafoetida, 1 ounce; pow- 
dered capsicum, 1 teaspoonful; table salt, 1 tablespoonful . 
Mix. Give half a teaspoonful daily. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. if 

Dr. Dun states with reference to epilepsy, with which 
pigs are often suddenly attacked, that the inherited tendency 
may be mitigated by keeping the animals clean, warm and 
comfortable, and supplied with a sufficiency of good, 
digestible, and somewhat laxative food. 

" To eradicate it, the stock must receive an infusion of 
new blood; and this is especially necessary, as epilepsy 
in pigs depends in most cases on continued breeding 
in-and-in." 

Fits. — See Epilepsy. 
* Rheumatism. — Exposure, wallowing in filth., etc. 

It is recognized by a muscular rigidity of the whole sys- 
tem. The appetite is impaired, and the animal does not 
leave its sty willingly. 

Keep the animal on a boiled diet, which should be given 
to him warm. Remove the cause by avoiding exposure and 
filth, and give a dose of the following, equal parts: Pow- 
dered sulphur, powdered sassafras, powdered cinnamon. 
Dose, half a teaspoonful, to be given in warm gruel. If 
this does not give immediate relief, dip an old cloth in hot 
water (of a proper temperature), and fold it round the 
animal's body. This may be repeated, if necessary, until 
the muscular system is relaxed. The animal should be 
wiped dry, and placed in a warm situation, with a good bed 
of straw. 

Ophthalmia. — Sudden changes in temperature, unclean 
sties, want of pure air and imperfect light. 

Keep the animal on thin gruel, and allow two teaspoon- 
fuls of cream of tartar per day. Wash the eyes with an 
infusion of marsh-mallows, until a cure is effected. 

Vermin. — Some animals are covered with vermin, which 
even pierce the skin, and sometimes come out by the mouth, 
nose and eyes. The animal is continually rubbing and 
scratching itself, or burrowing in the dirt and mire. 



18 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

First wash the body with a strong lye of wood ashes or 
weak saleratus water, then with an infusion of lobelia. 
Mix a teaspoonful of sulphur, and the same quantity of 
powdered charcoal, in the food daily. 

Or, procure some leaf tobacco, and boil it to a strong 
amber in water sufficient to float it. Mix in, while hot, 
sufficient amount of lard or refuse grease to make a thin 
salve, rub on the pigs or hogs troubled, and in less than 24 
hours, if the ointment is thoroughly applied, they will not 
have a single louse on them. 

Colic. — Spasmodic and flatulent colic requires anti-spas- 
modics and carminatives, in the following form : Powdered 
caraway seeds, one teaspoonful ; powdered assafoetida, one- 
third of a teaspoonful. To be given at a dose in warm 
water, and repeated at the expiration of an hour, provided 
relief is not obtained. 

Trichinae. — To prevent the Trichinae from getting into 
our hogs, it is necessary to remember that the most likely 
sources of the parasite are the animal offal and garbage 
which they eat when allowed to run at large, and the rats 
they are apt to devour when they can get at them ; in illus- 
tration of which fact it may be mentioned that the pigs in 
Ireland, which are allowed much more liberty of wandering, 
and are less regularly fed than their congeners in England 
and Prussia, are more apt than these others to present the 
Trichinae upon microscopic investigation. It is therefore 
advisable to keep pigs intended for human consumption in 
clean sties, containing only one or two each, and impervious 
to rats. The animals should be plentifully fed with sound 
grain, buttermilk, etc., well watered, and allowed some salt 
occasionally; in other words, placed in good hygienic con- 
ditions, and excluded from diseased food. It may perhaps 
seem necessary to dwell upon the value and necessity of 
measures which commend themselves at once as affording 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 19 

not only the best safeguard against the special disease under 
notice, but as going far toward the prevention of other dis- 
eases to which the hog is subject. Yet in view of the 
neglect and even positive abuse with which pigs are treated 
throughout the land, it is well that breeders should under- 
stand the fearful consequences liable to result from care- 
lessness, which, in matters of such vital importance, is 
closely allied to criminality. 

CHOLEEA. 

The Death Rate. — The losses which follow the intro- 
duction of this disease into a herd are, as a rule, very heavy. 
The younger the animals the greater the proportional losses. 
If pigs not more than three months old are attacked, the 
loss will run from 90 to 100 per cent; in six months old 
pigs the mortality is usually from 75 to 95 per cent ; while 
in full-grown hogs the loss is generally from 40 to 50 per 
cent, but under exceptionally favorable circumstances may 
fall as low as 25 per cent. Death may take place early in 
the disease, often during the first twenty -hours in young 
animals. In older animals the disease is not usually rapidly 
fatal ; and the patient may live along for two or three weeks 
even. If the animal recovers, he is of little value, for he 
does not thrive, and generally it costs more to fatten him 
than he is worth. In no disease to which the lower animals 
are subject can preventive measures be adopted with better 
results than those which may be secured in connection with 
the swine plague. 

Treatment of the Disease. — When this disease makes 
its appearance on any premises, the most rigid of suppres- 
sive measures should be adopted at once. No time should 
be lost in attempting treatment, for while this is being done 
others become infected, and the disease is soon beyond con- 
trol. Kill the sick the moment they show signs of the dis- 



20 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

ease, and burn or deeply bury not only the carcasses, but 
all the litter and other material which may be infected. 
Immediately remove to another locality all the other animals 
which have been in contact with the diseased ones, and keep 
them by themselves. Thoroughly clean and disinfect the 
infected pens with whitewash and carbolic acid. Then 
board them up, so that they may not be used for a period 
of six months. Infected yards should be carefully cleaned, 
covered with loose straw, which is to be burned, after which 
slacked lime should be spread over the entire surface, and 
the fences whitewashed with carbolized lime. If new cases 
appear in the infected herd after they have been moved to 
new ground, kill off the diseased ones. Move those which 
are well to other new ground, and apply the disinfection 
measure. If this method is followed with care, an outbreak 
can be soon suppressed. 

Choking. — Choking is often produced by feeding on 
roots, particularly round and uncut roots, like the potato. 
The animal slavers at the mouth, tries to raise the obstruc- 
tion from the throat, often groans, and appears to be in 
great pain. Then the belly begins to swell, from the 
amount of gases in the paunch. 

The obstruction, if not too large, can sometimes be thrust 
forward by introducing a flexible rod, or tube, into the 
throat. This method, if adopted, should be attended with 
great care and patience, or the tender parts will be injured. 
If the obstruction is low down, and a tube is to be inserted, 
a pint of olive or linseed oil first turned down the- throat 
will so lubricate the parts as to aid the operation, and the 
power applied must be steady. If the gullet is torn by the 
carelessness of the operator, or the roughness of the instru- 
ment, a rupture generally results in serious consequences. 
A hollow tube is best, and if the object is passed on into 
the paunch, the tube should remain a short time, to permit 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 



21 




POLAND CHINA. 




NEAPOLITAN AND ESSEX CROSS. 




SUFFOLK. 



22 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

the gas to escape. In case the animal is very badly swelled, 
the dose of chloride of lime or ammonia should be given, 
as for the hoove, after the obstruction is removed. 

Care should be taken, after the obstruction is removed, 
to allow no solid food for some days. 

Black Teeth. — Sickness in hogs from indigestion, de- 
ranged biliary or urinary secretion, is sometimes attributed 
to an imaginary disease called the black tooth. The treat- 
ment usually adopted is to examine the teeth of the animal, 
and if one is found blacker than the rest, it is supposed to 
be the cause of the disease, and is hammered 'off even with 
the jaw, leaving the broken roots and lacerated nerves of 
the tooth to increase the suffering of the animal. Notwith- 
standing all this cruel treatment, the hog sometimes re- 
covers, and would probably have done so much sooner if he 
had been let alone. The tooth in these cases is not dis- 
eased, but only stained by food or otherwise. The cruel 
treatment of breaking off the tooth down to the nerve 
would certainly cause disease, and might, in connection 
with the true one, cause the death of the animal. A proper 
treatment would be to wash the hog thoroughly with soap 
and water, and give it three or four ounces of castor oil. 

Rot, Tails of Young Pigs. — The tails of young pigs 
frequently drop or rot off, which is attended with no further 
disadvantage to the animal than the loss of the member. 
The remedies are, to give a little brimstone or sulphur in 
the food of the dam; or rub oil or grease daily on the 
affected parts. It may be detected by a roughness or scab- 
biness at the point where separation is likely to occur. 

Bleeding. — The most convenient mode is from an artery 
just above the knee, on the inside of the foreleg. It may 
be drawn more copiously from the roof of the mouth. The 
flow of blood may usually be stopped by applying a sponge 
or cloth with cold water. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 23 

The diseases of swine, though not numerous, are formid- 
able, and many of them soon become fatal. They have not 
been the subject of particular scientific study, and most of 
the remedies applied are rather the result of casual or hap- 
hazard suggestion, than of well-digested inference from 
long-continued and accurate observation. 

The cardinal principles of successful pig raising are, to 
breed only from sound and healthy parents of remote rela- 
tionship, to keep the animal in dry, warm and cleanly 
quarters, to feed regularly and with varying food, and to 
remove as early as possible any diseased or weakly animal 
from the herd. 

Apoplexy and Inflammation of the Brain. — In distil- 
leries, and where many hogs are kept, and too well kept, 
this is a very destructive and not unfrequent malady. If 
the swine had been carefully observed, it would have been 
seen that they were making a more than usually rapid 
progress, but there was at the same time a laziness, or 
heaviness, or stupidity about them. A dose or two of 
physic would have removed this, and not have interfered 
with the fattening; indeed they would have thriven the 
better after it. If this, however, has been neglected, the 
apoplexy will probably be established. The swine, in the 
act of feeding, or when moving across the sty, will fall sud- 
denly, as if struck with lightning, He will be motionless 
for a little while, and then convulsions will come on, strong 
and dreadful; the eyes will seem protruded, the head and 
neck will swell, and the veins of the neck will be brought 
into sight, notwithstanding the mass of fat with which they 
may be covered. In the midst of his struggles the animal 
will be perfectly unconscious. He will often die in a few 
minutes, or should he recover, he will be strangely ex- 
hausted, and some internal injury will be evidently done, 
so that he will afterwards be very subject to returns of these 
attacks, either of apoplexy or of fits. 



24 TREATISE ON SWTNE. 

The course here is plain enough : he should be bled, and 
bled copiously. Indeed, the blood should be suffered to 
flow as long as it will. Two or three ounces of Epsom 
salts should them be given; the quantity and the heating 
character of the food should be diminished, and a couple of 
drachms of sulphur given daily in the first meal. 

"When apoplexy or fits have once appeared in a sty they 
spread like wild-fire. There is nothing contagious in them, 
but there is the power of sympathy acting upon animals 
become too disposed to inflammation and fever. The most 
forward of them should be disposed of as soon as possible. 

The habit of fits once established cannot easily be broken, 
and the only way to prevent the continuance of much an- 
noyance is to separate those that are oftenest affected from 
the rest, and to fatten them as soon as possible. 

Measles. — This is an inflammatory disease, not always 
indeed discovered during the life of the animal, but plain 
enough after death, and very considerably diminishing the 
value of the carcass. The red and pimpled appearance of 
the skin, or of the cellular subtance between the flesh and 
the skin, sufficiently marks the disease. It shows that there 
has been general inflammation, either resulting from the 
fattening process being carried too far, or, much oftener, 
from the animal having too suddenly been taken from poor 
keep, and suffered to have as much as it will eat of highly 
nutritious and stimulating food. The measles are very 
seldom or never fatal, but the disease may generally be 
recognized by the pink blush of the skin, or of some parts 
of it, and by the hog rubbing himself more than usual, while 
the skin is free from pimples and scurf. The remedy would 
be a less quantity of food, or of not so stimulating a charac- 
ter, and occasional doses of Epsom salts or sulphur. 

Mange.— Few domesticated animals are so subject to this 
loathsome disease as the hog if he is neglected and filthily 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 25 

kept ; but in a well cleaned and well managed piggery it is 
rarely or never seen, unless some, whose blood from gener- 
ation to generation has been tainted with it, should be in- 
cautiously admitted. A mangy hog cannot possibly thrive 
well. His foul and scurfy hide will never loosen so as to 
suffer the accumulation of flesh and fat under it. 

Except it is hereditary, it may, although with some trou- 
ble, be perfectly eradicated. The first thing to be clone is to 
clean the hog well ; without this all external application and 
internal medicines will be thrown away. The animal 
must be scrubbed all over with a good strong soap lather, 
and when he is well dried with wisps of straw he will be 
ready for the ointment, and no better one can be used than 
the following : Flower of sulphur, 1 pound ; Venice turpen- 
tine, 4 ounces ; rancid lard, 2 pounds ; strong mercurial 
ointment, 4 ounces. Rub them well together. A little of 
this should be well rubbed all over him every second or 
third day ; but at the same time internal medicine, such 
as the following Alterative Powder, should not be omitted: 
Flower of sulphur, J ounce ; ^Ethiop's mineral, 3 grains ; 
nitre and cream of tartar, \ drachm. Mix and give daily 
in a little thickened gruel or wash. 

There is no animal in which it is more necessary to at- 
tack this and similar diseases constitutionally. 

This, like the scab in sheep, is a very infectious disease, 
and care should be taken to scour the sty well with soap, 
and afterwards to wash it with a solution of chloride of lime, 
as recommended elsewhere. The rubbing post, that useful 
but too often neglected article of furniture in every sty, 
should particularly be attended to. 

Feet, Soreness of the. — This often occurs to pigs that have 
traveled any distance ; the feet often become tender and 
sore. In such cases, they should be examined, and all ex- 
traneous matter removed from the foot. Then wash with 
weak lye. If the feet discharge fetid matter, wash with the 
following mixture; Pyroligneous acid, two ounces; water, 
four ounces. 

In the treatment of diseased swine, the " issues," as they 
are called, ought to be examined, and be kept free. They 
maybe found on the inside of the legs, just above the pas- 
tern joint. They seem to serve as a drain or outlet for the 



26 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

morbid fluids of the body, and whenever they are obstructed, 
local or general disturbance is sure to supervene. 

Pigging. — The sow usually goes with pig four months, 
but there is more irregularity in her time than in that of 
any other of our domesticated quadrupeds. A week or ten 
days before her pigging she should be separated from the 
rest, otherwise the young ones would probably be devoured 
as soon as they are dropped ; and if she shows any disposi- 
tion to destroy them, or if she has ever done so, she should 
be carefully watched, a muzzle should be put upon her, and 
her little ones should be smeared with train oil and aloes 
as soon as possible. 

The teats of the sow will sometimes swell, and hard knots 
may be felt in them, as in the garget of cattle. The follow- 
ing ointment may be rubbed with advantage into the teats : 
Soft soap, 1 pound; mercurial ointment, 2 ounces; cam- 
phor, rubbed down with a little spirit of wine, 1 ounce; rub 
them well together. The teats should be carefully wiped 
or washed before the young ones are permitted to suck 
again; indeed they will not suck while any unusual smell 
remains about the teats. The milk should also be gently 
but well pressed out of the diseased teats. A dose of physic, 
however, is indispensable. 

When it is wished to spay a breeding sow, in order that 
she may be put up for fattening, it may be done while she 
is suckling. The young pigs may be cut at three or four 
weeks old; they should never be suffered to suck longer 
than two months; and they may be rung as soon as conven- 
ient after weaning. No hog should escape ringing, even if 
he is destined to stay in the sty. It is the only way to keep 
him quiet, and will contribute materially to his thriving. 

Quinsy. — This disease in the hog is compounded of sore 
throat and enlargement of the glands of the throat, and is 
something like strangles in the horse — inflammation and 
enlargement of the cellular substance between the skin and 
muscles under the lower jaw. The progress of the malady 
is rapid, and the swelling is sometimes so great as to pre-- 
vent the breathing, and consequently to suffocate the ani- 
mal. To a skin so thick as that of the hog it is useless to 
make any external application. The patient should be bled ; 
two ounces of salts should be given, and half ounce doses 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 27 

repeated every six hours, until the bowels are well opened; 
while warm weak wash, or milk and water should be occa- 
sionally poured into the trough. It is not a dangerous dis- 
ease if remedies are early adopted. 

Inflammation op the Lungs. — This complaint is known 
among the breeders and fatteners of swine by the term of 
rising of the lights. There seems to be a peculiar tendency 
in every malady of this animal to take on a highly inflam- 
matory character. It is the consequence of the forcing sys- 
tem that is adopted in the fattening of the hog. It resembles 
the blood or inflammatory fever of oxen and sheep — a gen- 
eral and high degree of fever, produced on a system already 
strongly disposed to take on intense inflammatory action 
from the slightest causes. Every little cold is apt to degen- 
erate into inflammation of the lungs in the fatted or fatten- 
ing hogs; and so many cases of this sometimes occur in the 
same establishment, or the same neighborhood — in fact, 
among those who are exposed to the same exciting cause, 
that the disease is mistaken for an epidemic. There is no 
doubt that when this heaving of the lights begins to appear 
in a herd of swine, a great many of them are sooner or later 
affected by it and die. It is not the cough or cold that is epi- 
demic, but it is the plethora and inflammatory state of the 
animals that cause it to be so general as well as fatal. 

The early symptom is cough. A cough in a hog is always 
a suspicious circumstance, and should be early and prompt- 
ly attended to. The disease is rapid in its progress. The 
animal heaves dreadfully at the flanks ; he has a most dis- 
tressing cough, which sometimes almost suffocates him, and 
he refuses to eat. The principal guiding symptom will be 
the cough getting worse and worse, and becoming evidently 
connected with a great deal of fever. 

In many cases congestion takes place in the lungs, and the 
animal dies in three or four days ; in others he appears for a 
while to be getting better; but there is a sudden relapse, 
a frequent, dry, husky cough comes, there is a little appe- 
tite, rapid wasting, and the hog dies in a few weeks, evident- 
ly consumptive. 

The first thing that is to be done is to bleed, and the most 
convenient place to bleed the hog is from the palate. If an 
imaginery line is drawn from between the first and second 



28 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 




TREATISE ON SWINE. 29 

front middle teeth, and extending backward an inch along 
the palate, and the palate is there cut deeply, with a lancet 
or fleam, plenty of blood will be obtained. A larger quan- 
tity of blood, however, can be extracted from the vein on 
the inside of the fore-leg, about an inch above the knee. 
The application, of cold water with a sponge will generally 
stop the bleeding without difficulty, or at least so far arrest 
it that no harm will be done if it should continue a little 
while longer. An assistant may easily open the mouth suffi- 
ciently for all this by means of a halter -or a stout stick, but 
beyond this the swine is an awkward patient to manage. 
He will struggle obstinately against every attempt to drench 
him, and the inflammation may be aggravated by the con- 
test. It will, therefore, be necessary in the majority of 
cases to endeavor to cheat him by mixing his medicine with 
his food. 

Here we must recollect the nature of his stomach; it is 
not of that insensible character and difficult to be acted upon 
or nauseated as in the cow and the sheep, but it approaches 
as nearly as possible to the structure of that of the human 
being; and we must adapt our medicine accordingly. The 
emetic tartar must be omitted from the Fever Medicine, or 
it would sadly vomit the patient. The following Fever 
Medicine may be given: Digitalis, 3 grains; antimonial 
powder, 6 grains; nitre, J drachm. Mix and give in a little 
warm swill, or milk, or mash. 

In the greater number of cases the animal will readily 
take this; but if he is so ill that nutriment of every kind is 
refused, he must be drenched. 

This should be repeated morning, noon an (J night, until 
the 'inflammation is abated. A purgative should quickly 
follow, and we have those for the hog which are mild as 
well as effectual, and from which no danger can result. 
The Epsom salts may be given in doses of from one to three 
ounces, and they will communicate a not unpleasant or 
unusual flavor to his broth or swill. 

As this inflammation of the lungs in the hog rivals in the 
speed with which it runs its course, and in its intensity and 
fatality, the blood or inflammatory fever of oxen and sheep, 
no time should be lost in adopting the proper measures, and 
the bleeding should be copious, and the medicine given in 



30 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

doses sufficiently powerful. When the disease lingers on, 
and the dry, husky cough remains, and the animal is evi- 
dently wasting, medicine will be in a manner useless, and 
warmth, and cleanliness, and food that has no heating qual- 
ity, afford the only chance of cure. 

Sore Ears. — There are often troublesome cracks and sores 
at the back of the large lop-ears of some breeds. If there is 
any disposition to mange, it is most evident about the ears 
of these animais, and the mischief is sadly aggravated when 
brutes in human shape set every ferocious dog at the stray 
pig, the favorite hold of which is the ear. The Healing 
Cleaning Ointment will most readily heal the sores: Lard, 
2 pounds; resin, -J pound; melt them together, and when 
nearly cold, stir in calamine, very finely powdered, half a 
pound. 

Costiveness. — This is not an uncommon complaint of the 
confined and fattening hog, and is easily removed by the 
Epsom salts, or the Alterative Powder, given under head of 
mange. 

Sometimes, however, this costiveness is produced by in- 
flammation of the bowels, which is attended by considerable 
pain, heat and tenderness of the abdomen, with a quick 
pulse, and other symptoms of fever, and sometimes by fits 
and insensibility. The treatment should consist of copious 
bleeding, oily laxatives, clysters, warm fomentations to the 
abdomen, and, if the animal is not too large, warm baths. 

IIed Eruption. — This disease is somewhat analogous to 
scarlet fever. It makes its appearauce in the form of red 
pustules on the back and belly, which gradually extend to 
the whole body. 

The external remedy is : Powdered bloodroot, half an 
ounce; boiling vinegar, one pint. When cool, it should be 
rubbed on the external surface. The diet should consist of 
boiled vegetables, coarse meal, etc., with a small dose of 
sulphur every night. 

Dropsy. — The animal is sad and depressed, the appetite 
fails, respiration is performed with difficulty, and the belly 
swells. 

Keep the animal on a light, nutritive diet, and give a 
handful of juniper berries, or cedar buds, daily. If these 
fail, give a table-spoonful of fir balsam daily. 



TREATISE ON SWINE. 31 

Catarrh. — Occasional fits of coughing, accompanied with 
a mucous discharge from the nose and mouth, caused by ex- 
posure to cold and damp weather. 

Give a liberal allowance of gruel made with powdered 
elm or marsh-mallows, and give a teaspoonful of balsam 
copaiba, or fir balsam, every night. The animal must be 
kept comfortably warm. 

Frenzy. — This makes its appearance suddenly. The 
animal, having remained in a passive and stupid state, sud- 
denly appears much disturbed, to such a degree that it 
makes irregular movements, strikes its head against every- 
thing it meets, scrapes with its feet, places itself quite erect 
alongside of the sty, bites anything in its way, and fre- 
quently whirls itself round, after which it suddenly becomes 
more tranquil. 

Itch. — Itch may be cured by anointing with equal parts 
of lard and brimstone. Rubbing posts and a running 
stream to wallow in, are preventives. 

Kidney Worms. — The kidney worm is frequently fatal; 
and always produces weakness of the loins and hind legs, 
usually followed by entire prostration. A pig thus far gone 
is hardly worth the trouble of recovering, even where prac- 
ticable. 

Preventives.— Preventives are general thrift, a range in 
a good pasture, and a dose of half a pint of wood ashes 
every week or fortnight in their food. A small quantity of 
saltpetre, spirits of turpentine, or tar, will effect the same 
object. When attacked, apply spirits of turpentine to the 
loins, and administer calomel carefully; or give half a table- 
spoonful of copperas daily for one or two weeks. 

Blind Staggers. — Blind staggers is generally confined 
to pigs, and manifests itself in foaming at the mouth, 
rearing on their hind legs, champing and grinding their 
teeth, and apparent blindness. The proper remedies are 
bleeding and purging freely, and these frequently fail. 
Many nostrums have been suggested, but few are of any 
utility. It is important to keep the issues on the inside of 
the fore legs, just below the knee, thoroughly cleansed. 

G-ive half an ounce of Rochelle salts in a pint of thorough- 
wort tea. If the bowels are not moved in the course of 



32 TREATISE ON SWINE. 

twelve hours, repeat the dose. A light diet for a few days 
will generally complete the cure. 

Jaundice. — This disease is recognized by the yellow tint 
of the conjunctiva (white of the eye), loss of appetite, etc. 
The remedy is: Powdered golden seal, half an ounce; pow- 
dered sulphur, one-fourth of an ounce; powdered blue-flag, 
half an ounce; flaxseed, one pound. Mix, and divide into 
four parts, and give one every night. The food must be 
boiled, and a small quantity of salt added to it. 

Sows near Farrowing, Treatment of. — During the whole 
period of pregnancy sows should be moderately well fed, 
but not so much as to produce much fatness, as this would 
be the means of reducing the number of the litter, or risk 
them being smothered by their unwieldy dam lying down 
on them. As farrowing approaches, the food must be semi- 
liquid or gently laxative, since costiveness at this period 
generally fosters fever, and hence sows devour their off- 
spring. Gentle exercise is beneficial to all pregnant healthy 
animals, and for this the pen should be roomy. It is best 
to protect the sow against injury from other pigs. The pen 
should be airy and clean, aud, until the last day or two of 
pregnancy, comfortably littered. As the time approaches, 
or when uneasiness or the piling of litter for a bed shows 
its near advent, clear out the pen, and cover it with a thin 
litter of chaff only. This is necessary to prevent smothering 
the pigs, particularly if the sow be large or fat. Soon re- 
move the pigs when they are brought forth, keeping them 
away until after the afterbirth. In all circumstances the 
afterbirth should be removed at once. However natural it 
may be for the wild animal to devour this, the practice, if 
allowed among domesticated swine, develops the propensity 
to devour their offspring. A drink of milk gruel, or In- 
dian or oatmeal and hot water, will be at once grateful and 
supporting to the sow during and after parturition; 
and as soon as the secretion of milk is freely established, 
the diet should be abundant, soft and laxative. The pen 
should be kept clean. The litter of chaff should be of a- 
limited amount for a week, until the pigs can be better able 
to protect themselves. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 835 148 3, 



